Chris O’Connell is Australia’s last player standing at Wimbledon after he reached the third round of an overseas grand slam for the first time.
O’Connell, who also battled through to the third round of his home Open in Melbourne last year, was in inspired mood on his fourth successive day on court as he defeated dangerous Czech left-hander Jiri Vesely 6-3 7-5 6-4.
But the country’s No 1, Alex de Minaur, looked wholly despondent after being swept away 6-3 6-3 6-4 by the rejuvenated 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.
And then Jason Kuber, struggling physically with a hamstring problem, produced a gutsy display against Chilean No 25 seed, Nicolas Jarry, before he finally went down 7-5 5-7 6-3 6-4, leaving O’Connell out there on his own.
It was another encouraging milestone for the 29-year-old Sydneysider, who has enjoyed a big year with success on the clay and now a major breakthrough on the grass as he set up a last-32 meeting with American Christopher Eubanks.
“Yeah, a lot of excitement,” beamed O’Connell. “I felt a lot looser and freer out there today.
“It’s pushed me closer to the top 50, which is a huge goal of mine.”
O’Connell continued a fine season which also featured a big victory over Alexander Zverev to reach his first ATP tournament semi-final earlier this year in Munich.
He had endured a tough first-round match, which had stretched over three days because of constant frustrating rain delays before he finally defeated Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, but the win over Vesely was much more straightforward.
In bright sunshine, O’Connell raced into a 4-1 lead, but the Czech fought back, a successful challenge after one of his shots had been called “out”, enabling him to earn the break back.
It proved the only time, in just over two hours of combat, the Australian dropped his serve.
A double fault from Vesely that gifted an instant break back in the first set helped put O’Connell back in control, as he took the opener in 37 minutes and then began to control proceedings more as the Czech seemed to struggle a touch in the heat.
O’Connell’s win ensures an Australian presence over the weekend, with Brisbane’s Jason Kubler, facing Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, also hoping to join him later on Friday.
But there was nothing but dismay for de Minaur, the No 15 seed considered Australia’s best hope, who fell foul of a nightmare draw.
A top-16 seeding was supposed to keep him away from the top players but Berrettini, whose injury woes including a recent abdominal problem had left him unseeded, looked back to his formidable big-serving best.
The Italian, who took a set off Novak Djokovic in the 2021 final, was in coruscating form as he hammered 38 winners and won 88% of his first serves, with de Minaur doing well just to eke out three break-point chances, all of which were quickly wiped out.
“Obviously I didn’t help my cause by getting broken first game,” said a despondent de Minaur, who’d been looking for a big run after finishing runner-up at Queen’s Club.
“He’s got the ability to swing. I had two, three chances in the whole match, but it felt like I was facing first serves throughout the whole match. It was pretty tough.
“No, this defeat will obviously sit with me for a while. Yeah, I’m not happy at all. It’s a pretty bad situation to be in.”